Strange Dent in Finished Jr. Gent

[Alex D]

I made a Jr. Gent out of Kauri for a co-worker as a Christmas present this last month and I saw it again today. There is a dent or depression about 1/16 wide that goes all the way around the cap just above the coupler.

I'm pretty new to this, but I've done a lot or reading and searching and I haven't seen any reference to something like this.

The tubes were glued in with epoxy and the pen was finished with WTF.

Is this a known rookie mistake, or is somethine more sinister going here?
He is going to bring it in again on Monday so I can take a picture to post here to give everyone here a better idea of what is going on.

Thanks!
Alex

 

[Ambidex]

First thought I have is the clip is spinning and leaving a groove..DAMHIKT

 

[TwoCatsPens]

First thought I have is the clip is spinning and leaving a groove..DAMHIKT

That was the first thing I thought of too.

DAMHIKT (too)

Steve

 

[Bill in Buena Park]

And Kauri is fairly soft...

 

[Alex D]

Thanks for the ideas, I'm going to get a real close look Monday, but the clip could indeed be the problem.

In the meantime, any thoughts on a repair? Would steam be an option through the finish or will the finish need to be stripped for steam to work?

Thanks!

Alex

 

[plano_harry]

To get the best results, you are probably going to have to pop the hardware off and sand/refinish. If the depression doesn't line up with the clip, you do have a unique problem. We will deal with that when you post the pics.

Harry

 

[1080Wayne]

Not sure what the components of WTF are , but in my limited experience any finish will interfere with the steam trick . It might be worth a try to sand through the finish everywhere except the dent , then try the steam . Whether or not it works is probably dependent upon the amount of exposed end grain near the dent .

You didn`t mention if the cap assembly was an easy press fit (by hand or nearly so) or a hard one . Red flags should go up if you can press one in by hand . The wedging action created by the clip each time it is put in a pocket will soon loosen a clip . I find red Loctite is the best solution . On the other hand , if assembly was hard , you just didn`t press the finial fully in .

 

[Alex D]

Just got to take a closer look at the pen. You all are indeed good. Sure enough, the clip is loose. But boy is it ever loose! I don't remember it being that easy to press in, but it the finial had worked its way loose enough that there was a gap between the top of the blank and the finial.

Looks like this one will indeed need some loctite when it goes back together.

Thank you all for the tips on getting the dents out. I'll be giving those a try this week. Hopefully they will steam out. If not, thankfully I have some extra blanks lying around so I can remake this and keep the old one as a personal user.

Thanks!
Alex

 

[plano_harry]

Alex, if you thinkn about it, the clip is a miniature pry bar - the 90 degree bend at the finial allows the clip over time to lever the finial right out.